Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (January 9 at 10 am – January 26 at 4 pm): $70
Regular Registration Price (January 26 at 4 pm – first day of class): $77

Members, seniors, and students get a 10% discount.

This seminar is full. Please call (312) 255-3700 to be added to the wait list.

Excuse our dust!

Beginning January 2018 the Newberry will be undertaking renovation of much of the first floor. The Adult Education Seminars Program will still have use of the basement classrooms, but please check this link frequently for the latest conditions - which exterior doors are open or closed, where to find an accessible entrance, which restrooms are available, etc.

Because of the renovation, the Newberry Bookstore will be closed during the Winter/Spring and Summer 2018 terms. As such, seminar participants will be responsible for acquiring all required texts for their seminars on their own. We apologize sincerely for the inconvenience, and appreciate your understanding. We have put together a list of helpful resources that should make it easy to find the books you need.

Seminar Description

The Newberry has one of the strongest genealogy research collections in the nation. This one-session course will show you where to begin tracing your family’s history in America. Learn about genealogical relationships, traditional family trees and charts, DNA testing for kinship, and accredited research methods for finding information at home and in public sources. One session.

Marsha Peterson-Maass is author of the Fundamentals of Genealogy® textbook series who has led genealogy seminars at the Newberry Library since 2002.

Materials List

Recommended:

You can purchase the following two recommended textbooks as below. Instructor will also make them available to use in the classroom whether you choose to purchase them or not.

• Marsha Peterson Maass, Fundamentals of Genealogy®: Basics for Everyone. ISBN#: 978-0578184166
• Marsha Peterson Maass, Fundamentals of Genealogy®: The Most Helpful Tools You’ve Never Used. ISBN#: 978-0578184173

Both books are available for purchase directly from the instructor in the classroom or from the publisher, at https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/FundamentalsOfGenealogy

First Reading:

• There is no reading assignment for the first class.

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.